The story
DUISBURG
561 aircraft - 215 Lancasters, 135 Wellingtons, 119 Halifaxes, 78 Stirlings, 14 Mosquitoes. 17 aircraft - 7 Halifaxes, 5 Wellingtons, 3 Lancasters, 2 Stirlings - lost, 3.0 percent of the force.
This heavy raid was a partial failure. The Pathfinders claimed to have marked the target accurately but daylight reconnaissance showed that most of the bombing had fallen to the north-east of Duisburg; the Main Force may have bombed too early or they may have been lured by early fires short of the target. However, Duisburg had more than 300 buildings destroyed and a death roll of between 130 and 207 (reports vary). 4 of the Mosquitoes taking part in this raid were from 2 Group; they bombed Duisburg 3 hours after the main raid, then dived hard and flew back to England at low level.
Bombs hit 6 other towns in the Ruhr.
8 O.T.U. aircraft dropped leaflets over France without loss.
---
12 Venturas dispatched to attack a railway target at St-Brieuc turned back because of 10/10ths cloud.
---
MINELAYING
160 aircraft - 58 Halifaxes, 46 Lancasters, 31 Wellingtons, 25 Stirlings - in the biggest minelaying operation so far mounted. 123 aircraft carried out their flights successfully, laying 458 mines off the Biscay and Brittany ports and in the Frisian Islands. 1 Lancaster lost.
4 O.T.U. Wellingtons carried leaflets to France without loss.
There's more to discover
You have arrived at just one small part of Back to Normandy — a personal project dedicated to preserving stories, images, music and memories of the Second World War.
Every record is a doorway to a larger story. Explore Back to Normandy to discover more, or visit Fred Vogels' personal website to learn about the person and the projects behind it.